Free Raising Faith by Melody Carlson

Grandma, and it’s taking longer than we expected.”
    “Oh, that’s okay,” said Morgan, relieved that she had more time to clean up her mess.
    “What I was hoping is … could you start dinner? I know that Grandma is hungry, and she had some hamburger thawed out that she was going to make spaghetti sauce with.”
    “I don’t know how to do that.”
    “I know. But there’s a package of Hamburger Helper that you could put it with.”
    “I don’t know how to do that either.”
    “It’s easy. You just follow the directions. You
can
follow directions, can’t you?”
    Morgan sensed the impatience in her mother’s voice. “Yes.”
    “And make a little green salad too.”
    “Okay.”
    “We should be home after six.”
    As she hung up the phone, Morgan looked at the messy kitchen floor and then over at the living room rug, scattered with streaks of red and looking as if a wild animal might have been slaughtered on it. And yet she hadn’t sewn a single sock yet. It seemed like her chances of making it to the ski trip were getting slimmer and slimmer.

chapter eight
    Somehow Morgan managed to clean things up and get dinner started before Mom and Grandma came home.
    “You go and rest,” Mom told Grandma. “I know you’re worn out from all those tests and things.”
    Grandma didn’t argue, and Mom hung up her coat and then came into the kitchen to help Morgan.
    “How did the tests go?” asked Morgan as she sliced a tomato for the salad.
    “We won’t know for a few days.”
    Morgan considered telling Mom about the frustrating afternoon she’d had, but she could tell that Mom was worried. No sense in making things worse. Together they finished putting dinner together, then Mom fixed up a tray for Grandma, and Morgan took it in to her.
    “Oh, that wasn’t necessary,” said Grandma when she saw Morgan coming in with the tray.
    “Hey, we can spoil you if we want to,” said Morgan. “You might as well enjoy it while you can. We’ll probably find out that you’re perfectly fine in a few days, and then you won’t get all this pampering.”
    Grandma chuckled as Morgan set the tray in front of her. “You make a good point.” She slowly opened the paper napkin and set it on her lap. “So how is the sock sewing coming?”
    “Okay,” said Morgan quickly. She knew there was no need to worry Grandma about her sock concerns.
    “Your hair looks nice.” Grandma nodded her approval.
    “Thanks.”
    Then Grandma bowed her head and said a blessing, adding an extra line of special thanks for her granddaughter and asking God to help Morgan get enough money for the ski trip.
    Morgan smiled. “Thanks, Grandma. I’m sure God listens especially closely to your prayers.”
    “God listens to everyone’s prayers, honey.”
    Then Morgan returned to her sewing projects. She decided to tackle the elf skirts first. Her plan was to get them out of the way so she could focus exclusively on socks, socks, and more socks. But by the time she finished three of the skirts, she remembered she still had math homework to do. And by the time she finished that, it was time for bed.
    “Did you sign up for the ski trip yet?” Amy asked Morgan as they walked to school the next morning.
    “Not yet,” muttered Morgan.
    “Well, the office lady at your church told me that it’s filling up fast,” said Amy. “You better get on it.”
    “Yeah,” agreed Carlie. “That’s what she told me too.”
    “I will,” said Morgan. “I need to see how many pairs of socks have been sold at my mom’s shop. Things were so busy last night that I forgot to ask.”
    “Are you going to church tonight?” asked Emily.
    “Is it Wednesday already?” asked Morgan.
    “Yeah,” said Emily. “And since I missed church last week, I’d really like to go.”
    “I’ll let you know,” said Morgan. “My grandma hasn’t been feeling too great. It’ll probably depend on her.” Morgan had actually been hoping that they wouldn’t be going tonight,